Paul Anderson, M.D. ’79, is an orthopedic surgeon and professor in the Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. He is a recognized expert in spinal trauma and complex cervical spine disorders.

Dr. Anderson earned his medical degree summa cum laude, interned at Wayne State Affiliate Hospitals and completed a WSU residency in 1984. After a spine fellowship at Case Western Reserve University with Henry Bohlman, M.D., he served as associate professor of Orthopaedics at the University of Washington.

He has worked to reduce spine injuries, such as seat belt injuries in children, and closed head injuries and spine fractures in football players and other athletes. His current interest is in prospectively identifying patients with osteoporosis to prevent fractures and he has worked extensively with the American Orthopaedic Association to establish “Own the Bone” programs throughout the country.

Dr. Anderson was president of the Cervical Spine Research Society and president of the Lumbar Spine Research Society. He has served as a member or chair of multiple committees of many of the most significant orthopaedic associations. Capitalizing on his engineering background, he has served as chair of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Biomedical Engineering Committee and co-chair of American Society for Testing and Materials F04 Committee.

Dr. Anderson has written more than 250 peer-reviewed articles, was an associate editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery and a consultant reviewer for Spine and the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. He has co-written two textbooks on spinal trauma.

Dr. Anderson is a recipient of the WSU Medical Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Award